The British Library hold a large collection of recordings from Capital Radio, a London based UK radio station. One of the recordings is Depeche Mode's Wembley concert from the 11th January 1988. According to WayneUK the show was pulled at the last minute, which I think is probably because the group were planning to release the official live album "101". I had to chance to listen to the recording at the British Library and the quality is amazing, the synth parts in particular being a lot more detailed than on 101. My criticism of 101 was that it too polished and that the live renditions sounded too much like the studio versions. In this recording, the songs take on a life of their own.

In order to hear the show you must apply for a readers pass at the British Library in London (it is free but you need to show various forms of ID) and then request the recording, giving a valid reason for wanting to hear it. Once you have your pass, you can listen to the files at either the London site or the British Library at Boston Spa in Yorkshire. The computers are very secure so it is impossible to copy or download the files (128kbps mp3s). As I am pursuing a career in archives, I greatly respect the copyright restraints on such archive recordings and would advise people to do the same and not attempt to copy the files. The British Library said they would copy the files if permission was given from Capital Radio, however the station refused stating "Although we own the copyright in the recording we do not own full rights to it. So we will not grant permission for access to our archives". I was dissapointed but perhaps Mute/EMI might consider an official release one day.